Korea's Gen Z rejects drinking as a social obligation

More than half of South Koreans in their 20s now abstain from alcohol or drink no more than once a month, marking the highest rate recorded since surveys began in 2005, The Korea Times reported.

The finding reflects a generation-defining rupture in Korea's mandatory "hoesik" — the after-work drinking ritual embedded in corporate culture — as pandemic-era lockdowns gave young Koreans permission to question a social contract many had accepted without choice.

The 56 percent figure marks a rise from 37.9 percent in 2005, according to survey data cited by The Korea Times. The 50 percent threshold was first crossed in 2020 during pandemic lockdowns and has continued climbing in the years since.

Kim Joo-hee, a 30-year-old marketing coordinator in Seoul, said the suspension of company drinking events during the pandemic gave an entire generation clarity about those norms. "When no one forces you to go, you quickly realize that you didn't want to go in the first place. And then you start asking why you were drinking so much to begin with," Kim told The Korea Times.

The change has also reshaped how peers talk about alcohol. "If someone brags about how much or how long they drank the night before, it almost feels thoughtless," Kim said. "It's like they haven't figured out how to spend their time."

Health priorities are reinforcing the shift. The Korea Times reported that 44.3 percent of 20-somethings cite weight management or blood sugar control as reasons for reducing alcohol intake, while 65.2 percent now exercise at least once weekly — the largest increase of any age group tracked.

The hospitality industry is responding. An anonymous worker at a Hongdae bar in Seoul's Mapo District said customers who spend freely without relying on alcohol now stand out in ways that would have been unremarkable before. "Alcohol is usually where the margins are. So now when a table orders a lot, I can't help but notice," the worker told The Korea Times. "They feel like a VIP."

Korea's nonalcoholic beer market grew 55.2 percent between 2021 and 2023, rising from 41.5 billion won to 64.4 billion won, according to market research firm Euromonitor. The segment is projected to reach 94.6 billion won by 2027. Major soju brands have also progressively reduced alcohol content in their flagship products over the same period, The Korea Times reported.

Kim said the shift does not mean young Koreans have abandoned drinking. "People like me still drink," she told The Korea Times. "But I do it because I actually want to — not out of force."